Which album of Banks' is your favorite?

Quote from foxfeeder

Rap/hip-hop is probably the biggest selling "music" these days, does anyone here like it, at all, let alone more than prog, Genesis style pop, or even Little Mix?

Certainly, Drake and Post Malone are right up there in terms of sales but so are Ed Sheeran, Billie Eilish and Arianna Grande, so rap isn't quite having it all its own way. In the UK, I'm not sure rap features highly at all, our biggest seller is apparently Lewis Capaldi along with the aforementioned Sheeran and Eilish.

I'm open to anything. If I alphabetised my CDs Madonna and Magazine would be neighbours as would Genesis and Girls Aloud, as well as King Crimson and Kylie if I didn't file her under M. So far there's no Little Mix, though I did recently hear one of theirs I like.

However, I don't tend to get on with rap.

Quote from NedFlanders123

Really? ACF is very listenable to my ears. His first and best. If Tony had used a proper vocalist on TF it would have raised the bar a little.

Our ears are probably hardwired differently then! I found Curious wispy and unmemorable.

I totally get people not liking TB's vocals, I'm not that keen on them either, but at least it gave TF some personality. I find most of his guest singers generic and nothingy. And when there are a few singers, the album loses focus and it can't find a consistent identity.

Quote from Ben

My favourite Tony Banks's album is the last one : a perfect writing and one of his best classical album. So...'5'.

Yep, this is also my answer. I absolutely love it.

It might be unpopular to say so but I like Tony's singing because .... IT'S TONY. There is nothing wrong with his singing that a bit of work couldn't have improved. I think the vocal on This Is Love is as good as anyone else's. He was far too diffident about it & hung up about sounding like Neil Tennant of the Pet Shop Boys. Nothing wrong with that in my view.

Quote from Backdrifter

Certainly, Drake and Post Malone are right up there in terms of sales but so are Ed Sheeran, Billie Eilish and Arianna Grande, so rap isn't quite having it all its own way. In the UK, I'm not sure rap features highly at all, our biggest seller is apparently Lewis Capaldi along with the aforementioned Sheeran and Eilish.

I'm open to anything. If I alphabetised my CDs Madonna and Magazine would be neighbours as would Genesis and Girls Aloud, as well as King Crimson and Kylie if I didn't file her under M. So far there's no Little Mix, though I did recently hear one of theirs I like.

However, I don't tend to get on with rap.

Rap still features too highly though - music comprises 3 basic elements, rhythm, melody and harmony, at the most basic level, rap tends to ignore harmony, and lacks a lot of melody in many cases, in short, save yourself some money and buy a drum machine, set it up and leave it running!

I'm very familiar with Lewis Capaldi, my daughter is a rabid fan and my wife has it in her car. He has talent, for sure, but his songs are all too "samey" (those telling quotes again! ), Ed wanders between good and, on occasions, tedious, and Arianne is one of a long list of female singer-songwriter-clones who all trot out near identical songs moaning to their ex's about how "I tried so hard but you always let me down". Eilish however, treads her own path (with her uncredited brother's help, it seems) so maybe something fresh is on the way.

I don't have an issue with any genre, I like a lot of jazz, free form and trad, though I've never bought any, and a good pop song takes some beating. Oops, I did it again by Britney is undeniably brilliant.

There are 3 rap tracks I like, Grandmaster and Melle Mel: White Lines, the one that goes "It's like that, and that's the way it is" - forget who it's by, but I have reasons for liking it, which would take a bit of explain. The other is Morris Minor and the Majors (really the brilliant Tony Hawks) and Stutter Rap. Which is, of course, a parody!

Quote from Mark Bataitis

He mentioned sounding like Al Stewart as well, which he did.

But nowhere near enough, sadly. As an Al Stewart fan, I can't hear much similarity, the odd moment, but Tony, like Steve on Cured, didn't seem to put it in a key he could sing comfortably or naturally. Steve's worst was probably Can't Let Go, Tony's (from memory) was By You. Maybe, if he'd stuck at it, he'd have improved as Steve did.

Quote from StillCan'tDance

I despise labels when it comes to music. Labels are for the anal retentive.

"It's just music, man... Forget the label!" -- Guillermo Cazenave

Anyway...

My favorite Banks album is STILL.

As I've said elsewhere, I'm also a big fan of THE FUGITIVE. Tony's vocals on that album are a bit strained and inconsistent, but generally I'm OK with them. His later vocals (Big Man, Hero For An Hour) are better -- enough so to make me wonder why he didn't sing more.

A CURIOUS FEELING (as I've also said elsewhere) took me a very long time to warm up to, but I've come to enjoy it quite a bit -- even the long instrumental tracks.

I like all of Tony's rock albums, but I only got halfway through SEVEN before deciding I wasn't interested in his orchestral works (although I've always been OK with side 2 of THE WICKED LADY).

Favorite song on each Tony album:

A CURIOUS FEELING - tough call, but probably Lucky Me

THE WICKED LADY - Barbara

THE FUGITIVE - And The Wheels Keep Turning, followed closely by By You

SOUNDTRACKS - Lion Of Symmetry

BANKSTATEMENT - Queen Of Darkness

STILL - Angel Face, followed closely by Red Day On Blue Street

STRICTLY INC. - Something To Live For, followed closely by Don't Turn Your Back On Me

Quote from foxfeeder

music comprises 3 basic elements, rhythm, melody and harmony

Really? Enjoy:

Quote from StillCan'tDance

Really? Enjoy:

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Well, that's unusual! You agreeing with me. That judiciously avoids being music on all 3 counts. Possibly worse than the Robert Fripp "Frippertronics" album recorded in various Polygram foyers around the world, back in the late 70's/early 80's, and whose title I forget, thankfully. It makes Bob Mould's "No water in Hell" sound like a masterpiece. If we could just get Kanye West to "sing" over it, we could have another Bohemian Rhapsody on our hands. Not!

I'm going to start a "So, just what is music then?" thread, it's a topic too big for this one.

I wonder what Banks would think of a discussion about his albums turning into a conversation about the popularity of rap and the nature of music itself.

Quote from foxfeeder

Well, that's unusual! You agreeing with me. That judiciously avoids being music on all 3 counts. Possibly worse than the Robert Fripp "Frippertronics" album recorded in various Polygram foyers around the world, back in the late 70's/early 80's, and whose title I forget, thankfully. It makes Bob Mould's "No water in Hell" sound like a masterpiece. If we could just get Kanye West to "sing" over it, we could have another Bohemian Rhapsody on our hands. Not!

I feel awful for saying this but it wasn't actually an agreement. I was trying to point out how difficult it is to quantify what music actually is. I was going to put up something from Throbbing Gristle but their stuff can be pretty tasteless to some so I avoided it. Also, TG's music (like that of Suicide) tended to be built around a drum machine pattern so it woud have at least quaified as music (as per your definition) on one level at least.

A friend of mine is a huge fan of Bob Mould's so I'll have to ask him about that track.

Here's were we most definitely agree, though: Kanye West should never, ever be let near a microphone. Ever.

Quote from Backdrifter

I'm going to start a "So, just what is music then?" thread, it's a topic too big for this one.

I wonder what Banks would think of a discussion about his albums turning into a conversation about the popularity of rap and the nature of music itself.

It's so easy to fall into the trap of saying things such as "This modern stuff isn't music...it was all better in my day" and therefore appearing completely out of step with "the yoof" of today. As a dad of two teenagers, I'm pretty aware of what's popular now and some of it isn't all bad. Funnily enough, though, my sixteen year old daughter had a party last week and she and her friends spent much of their time listening to Duran Duran, Dexys Midnight Runners and Abba!